Purchased my first "decent" bike, a Motobecane 700HT about 5-6 years ago as a 'gateway drug' of sorts for myself to get into XC biking. Ended up using it for commuting for a few years as well.
Over time have upgraded both front and rear discs with Avid BB7 (160/180mm) and tried to keep everything clean and well serviced. Frame got beat up a bit commuting (locking to outside bike racks) but just cosmetic. Bike still runs pretty well, shifts great - front gears can be a little slow but that might just be typical Deore derailleur (I have XT in the back and still run like new). Front fork (Dart 2) lockout is broken and I think the rebound is starting to get sluggish. I've replaced several other minor components over time as well.
I currently have on hand:
- A brand new Rockshox Reba RL 120mm TAPERED 15mm Maxle lite (steer tube has been cut down just a little bit, should still be plenty long, but affects resale)
- A brand new Mavic Crossride Disc wheelset (15/12mm through axle)
These are of course, utterly useless to me right now. I actually did try to mount the Reba fork to my bike using a specially designed headset from Cane Creek and while the fork "fits", it just barely rubs on the inside of my headtube. No dice.
So my question: Would I be better off liquidating everything I currently own and purchasing a new bike, or would it be a reasonable endeavor to port my current parts to a new frame (waiting for a good deal online)? I am not sure how 'compatible' my entire parts list are for modern frames and considering age whether I would be better off starting from scratch. For consideration, I am confident in my ability to swap components over myself, so I won't be having to tack on cost of LBS to do it for me.
I found a local that is selling Dartmoor Primal frames sub $200, which sounds like it might be a winner for me - being 650b or 26er compatible I like the idea of upgrading to 27.5 wheels as a down the road upgrade. I expect to have to purchase some new minor components to handle this swap - probably new bottom bracket (? I am fairly unfamiliar to the different specs on BBs) and seatpost - not sure if frame comes with headset but I'll assume I'll need a tapered headset as well as all new cable. Is this reasoning sound? Or are there likely more parts that will need to be changed?